Surprise! It's Your New Mommy
by Dragon Crystals
Summary: When Rachel has grown up and is living the life in NYC, what she least expects is to come across an old friend with her daughter. How will Rachel be when her friend dies and she's left to care for the child?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know this has terrible writing at the beginning. Ignore it and live through it! Sorry if that's harsh. I REALLY appreciate reviews!!!!!!!!  
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**Love is overrated: I'm sorry I didn't post this when I said I would. Sorry! But it's here now. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or any of the characters (besides Violet). I DO own the plot.**

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Rachel hummed as she walked around her apartment. The pretty twenty-three year-old was a happy Broadway star, achieving her dream as soon as she got out of high-school. No longer was she the singing freak, the girl who got slushied every day. She was the Broadway star, the pretty woman, the popular one. Her new life hadn't been that troubling.

Rachel put on her coat and stepped out the door. She left the building, starting to sing.

"_The moment I wake up,_

_Before I put on my make-up,_

_I say a little prayer for you_

_While combing my hair now,_

_And wondering what dress to wear now,_

_I say a little prayer for you_  
_Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart  
and I will love you  
Forever, and ever, we never will part  
Oh, how I love you  
Together, forever, that's how it must be  
To live without you  
Would only mean heartbreak for me_

_I run for the bus, dear,  
While riding I think of us, dear,  
I say a little prayer for you.  
At work I just take time  
And all through my coffee break-time,  
I say a little prayer for you."_

She paused, taking a breath. A voice continued where she left off.

"_Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart  
and I will love you  
Forever, and ever we never will part  
Oh, how I'll love you  
Together, forever, that's how it must be  
To live without you  
Would only mean heartbreak for me._

_I say a little prayer for you  
I say a little prayer for you_

_My darling believe me,  
For me there is no one but you!  
Please love me too  
And I'm in love with you  
Answer my prayer now babe_

_Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart  
and I will love you  
Forever, and ever we never will part  
Oh, how I'll love you  
Together, forever, that's how it must be  
To live without you  
Would only mean heartbreak for me."_

Rachel knew that voice. It had been five years, but she would never forget a voice. She whirled around and saw the familiar blond. "Quinn?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Rach." Quinn smiled. She brought forward a young girl, about seven years old. "This is Violet. Violet, this is Rachel."

Violet stepped forward, a bit hesitant. A small smile on her lips, she asked, "Are you an acquaintance of Mama's?"

"We were friends in high school, and I think we are now. Are you her daughter?" Rachel said, bending down to the young girl. Rachel had outgrown her dictionary-talk, and it seemed that it had been passed down to the young girl.

"Yes, I am," Violet said. "I don't see Dad much. He still lives in Lima. Mama and I moved here the year I started kindergarten. But now we have to move." Her nose wrinkled. "I like our place."

"Quinn," Rachel said as an idea popped into her mind, "why don't you two stay with me? I've got spare rooms in my apartment."

Quinn looked at Rachel sharply, surprise etched on her face. "Really? You mean it?"

Rachel looked at the shabby coats of the two females before her. "I don't think you could afford a new place, not if you can't dress with regular clothes. I'll take you to my place right now."

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked. "I don't want to be a burden."

Rachel waved her hand. "No, no. I'm lonely by myself. I like to be with people."

Quinn smiled. "Thanks a lot, Rach."

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_Six months later...._

Rachel sat in the hospital waiting room, her hands twisting in her lap. Violet sat beside her, still as a stone. She was biting her lip, her eyes darkened with worry.

A nurse came over to the two anxious girls. "I'm so sorry. She didn't make it."

Rachel broke down first. Tears streaming down her face, she asked, "What happened?"

"Heart attack," the nurse replied, blunt in a good way.

Rachel remembered what had happened the night before.

_The two women were sharing jokes and telling stories not long after Violet had gone to bed. It wasn't expected, what happened next. Quinn froze, right in the middle of sharing a story of Violet's first day of school. _

"_Quinn?" Rachel asked, her brow furrowed. She shook the blonde's arm, but Quinn didn't reply. "Quinn!"_

_Quinn fell over._

Violet buried her face in her hands. "Not Mama," she cried. "I still need her. I'm just a little kid."

Rachel stroked the girl's back. "There, there," she said. "It'll be okay."

Instead of pulling away as she usually did, Violet let herself be comforted.

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_One month later...._

Rachel, dressed in her now-usual black outfit, walked around the kitchen, making pancakes for breakfast. It used to be special, only on weekends—and sometimes not even then—but now, it was every day, for Violet needed comfort food. And pancakes were on the top of the list.

There was a knock on the door. Rachel looked up. No one was expected, and no decent salesmen knocked on the door at seven-thirty in the morning.

Maybe it was her landlord. She hadn't paid rent this month, and, as she always paid her rent on time, she was in trouble. She could just imagine herself and Violet getting kicked out of the lovely little apartment and having to live on the street. She shuddered. Best to get this over now, she told herself.

Biting her lip, she took the pancakes off the hot burner and onto the unheated one. She took a deep breath, bracing herself.

She opened the door, expecting to see the burly form of her landlord.

She did not expect to see Noah Puckerman.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter is filler. Well, except for at the end. Enjoy!**

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Noah Puckerman knew he had the right address for where his daughter was living. He had checked ten times. He didn't know that Rachel Berry was caring for his daughter. It had been, what, five years since he'd last seen her. After their dating in high school, they never expected to see each other again.

He decided to play cool. "Well, well. Rachel Berry. I never thought it was you who was caring for my daughter." He smiled at his high-school sweetheart.

It took a moment for Rachel to compose herself. "Hello, Puck," she said. "What are you doing here? I have to take Violet to school in fifteen minutes. We're about to have pancakes. Would you like to join us?"

For a moment, Puck was shocked. Rachel had lost her dictionary-speech. "Whoa, Berry. I can understand you. Did the dictionary in your head die or somethin'?"

She glowered at him. "I never had a dictionary in my head. And you never answered my question. Would you like to stay for pancakes or not?"

Puck raised his hands. "I surrender and accept pancakes." He expected her to laugh, as she would have when they were in high school, but all she did was turn around and walk back to the kitchen, where Violet was sitting patiently at the table.

The girl jumped up when she saw her father. "Dad! What are you doing here?" The sadness had disappeared from her face.

"To see you, what else?" Puck asked, picking up his daughter. He sent a quizzical glance at Rachel. "Why are you both so sad?"

Violet became sad again, Rachel's face crumpled. Puck knew he had said something wrong. "What happened?" he asked, more gentle this time.

"She died," Rachel whispered. She broke down. She ran to the bathroom, and Violet slid down from Puck's arms.

"It was Mama," Violet explained. Her head bowed, and she left the kitchen to be with Rachel.

Puck just stood there. Quinn had died?

True, the two had never been close friends, only connected by Glee…and Rachel. Rachel had become Quinn's best friend after she had moved in with Rachel. They were inseparable, giggling in the school hallways, arm in arm, staying up late chit-chatting. Basically shutting Puck out of their lives. So of _course _he'd become jealous—Rachel and he were dating back then—and a huge argument had ensued. And then high school had ended. Quinn moved to the big apple, while Puck stayed in Lima. The two pretty women must have met and stayed together. Violet already seemed to accept Rachel as her new mom. Puck was fine with is as—shush—he still had feelings for her.

Puck shifted his weight, his fingers flexing, not knowing what to do. Biting his lip, he examined the room. It was very homey, with pictures (and more than a few movie posters too, he noticed) of Rachel. Not in a snobby way, but in a this-is-me way. The apartment was small, but that made is even cozier.

"Puck," Rachel said, snapping Puck out of his examining of the room. "I'm going to have Violet go to school late. There's lots of explaining to do, and that won't happen in one minute, along with pancakes."

Puck couldn't help admiring how pretty Rachel looked, her pretty and dark brown hair awry, her dark brown eyes sad yet bright. She wasn't wearing a skirt and knee-socks, instead jeans and old-looking t-shirt. Rachel had changed so much since he'd last seen her.

"Sure," replied Puck, a few moments too late.

Rachel darted him a glance. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I just was thinking, you know, for Violet. For your daughter." She cleared her throat, almost nervously.

"Of course," Puck said. "I want to stay. I need to know what happened."

Rachel's eyes darkened, her shoulders slumped. She looked—was—depressed. Puck crossed the small room, mussing his daughter's hair on the way, to stand next to Rachel. He rubbed Rachel's back in small circles, attempting to calm her.

"Thanks, Noah," Rachel said. "Sorry. It's so hard to be without her. She was the sister I never had. Barely a minute goes by without something reminding me of her."

"I know," Puck said. Without noticing it, he had pulled her into an embrace. He knew about this. True, he had only been seven when his father had left him, his mom and sister, but it was just as bad.

"Do you mind talking about it?" Puck asked, gently pulling away from the sad woman. "I just want to know."

Rachel, holding back tears, told the story, with help from little Violet. Puck listened as Rachel told of when they had met up until now. "It's so hard to be without her," Rachel confessed. "She was like my sister."

"I am so sorry," Puck said, twisting his hands in his lap—they were sitting at the kitchen table, eating pancakes—and biting his lip.

Rachel gave him a watery smile. "I need to take Violet to school," she said. "Would you like to come?"

"Sure." Puck was agreeing without thinking. "I've got my truck here."  
Rachel's eyes widened. "Drive?" she asked. "At eight-thirty in the morning on a weekday? You're crazy. We're riding the subway."

Puck opened his mouth to protest, but then Rachel gave him one of her don't-mess-with-me glares and he closed his mouth. "Sure, sure," he said.

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After they had dropped Violet off at school and returned to Rachel's apartment, she and Puck were settled comfortably next to each other on the small couch, their arms and legs pressed against each other. They were chatting about life, about jobs, about any topic that popped into their minds.

"Rachel?" Puck said during a short silence.

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Rachel glanced at Puck. He was staring at her. "Why?"

"Because," he said, "I want to know if it's okay to do this."

He kissed her.

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**I know I went on overly long about the pancakes. I was hungry when I wrote this chapter. Review!!!!!!!!!!**


	3. Author's Note

**I'm sorry to say this, but I'm discontinuing all my stories. I've got no inspiration at all. If anyone wants to adopt them, please PM or message me. I'd be willing to share what I have for my stories that isn't published, though not many do have that. I appreciate all of you who reviewed, put me on alert or your faves list. I've been writing a little bit on fictionpress . com, and if you want to read that my account is SylvieGray.**

**I love all of you on FFN, and have a wonderful life!  
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